


Lily of The Valley

by jolimelon



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Oneshot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-19
Updated: 2018-01-19
Packaged: 2019-03-06 16:05:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,160
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13414791
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jolimelon/pseuds/jolimelon
Summary: Mike and Nanaba, close childhood friends, have one last conversation before Mike leaves for military training.





	Lily of The Valley

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this fanfic back in 2014 or 2015, I can't really recall. Anywho! I never got the chance to upload it, so I decided, why the hell not? So here it is! Completely unedited due to my own lazy ways (lol). Hope you all enjoy!

"Keep your eyes closed, okay?" 

"Uh-huh." 

"They're closed?"

"Yep." 

"No peeking?" 

"Nanaba, my eyes are shut tight." 

Nanaba let out a small laugh, and huffed playfully. "I'm just making sure. Okay then, which flower am I holding now, Mike?" 

Mike, with his eyes still shut tightly, raised his nose slightly and inhaled two quick breaths through his nostrils. 

"Trick question." he responded, his lips curling into a subtle smirk. "That one's grass." 

"Yep, you're right!" Nanaba responded. "But you've never been wrong yet, have you?" 

Though the question had been rhetorical, Mike still mumbled out a reply. "Uh, m..maybe, I don't know. Can I open my eyes yet?" 

"No, not yet. There's one more." Nanaba said, leaning in toward him. He could feel her setting something light around his head but he knew immediately what it was. 

"Lily of the Valley." It was the name of the flower, and it had the strongest scent out of any plant that Mike had ever encountered. It's aroma was unique, sweet and inviting to the senses, which was precisely why it was his favourite flower. 

Knowing he had been correct in his guess, Mike finally opened his eyes, squinting narrowly to adjust his vision to the bright sunlight. He could just barely make out Nanaba's silhouette as she nodded her head. 

"It suits you." Nanaba said, glancing up at the item atop Mike's head. 

As if suddenly remembering that he had something there, Mike gently touched the object, running his hand along the edges before realizing that it was a ring of flowers. 

A flower crown. They had always been popular among the kids in town, and even an older kid like Mike knew how to make one. He'd lost interest in them years before, but he still found the gesture endearing and continued to wear the crown regardless. 

Despite the slight differing interests, Mike wasn't much older than Nanaba. Only a few short years separated them, but the gap somehow felt larger. Mike was going through a lot of changes in recent times. He was getting much taller than the rest of the kids he knew, and his voice was becoming deeper too. He was painfully aware of the changes taking place in his body, but Nanaba didn't seem to take notice, and if she did notice, then she didn't say a thing to him about it. Maybe she was trying to spare his feelings. It was an appreciated gesture. 

Once Mike's eyes had finally adjusted to the light, he was able to take a better look at Nanaba. She was on the taller side for a girl her age, but was thin and still had glowing, youthful features that made her look younger than she was. Her hair was a light golden colour that curled neatly behind her ears and reached no further than the nape of her neck in length. 

Overall, her appearance was what had been traditionally deemed boyish. She'd always been that way. She preferred short hair and pants over anything else, but she'd still play with flowers or dolls if she felt like it. She didn't care much for the 'normalities', and just did as she pleased. It was a respectable trait, Mike thought. 

"I heard your mom talking to my mom," Nanaba said, breaking the silence and re-capturing Mike's attention. "She said that you're starting military training tomorrow." 

"Ah..." Mike mumbled, averting his gaze to the vacant field ahead of them. 

It was just the two of them as far as he could see. The long blades of grass dancing in the wind seemed almost endless.

"Is it true?" asked Nanaba, her voice heavy with hesitance. 

Without returning his gaze, Mike uttered a simple, "Yeah." 

Another moment of silence took over the conversation, but Mike wasn't eager to speak anyway. Still, he felt felt a vague sense of embarrassment overcoming him that could be directly attributed to the topic that had just been brought up. He had been hoping to avoid discussing it altogether, since saying goodbye left too big a hole in his heart. On the contrary, and he was also aware of it, leaving without saying a word was an awful thing to do, but it was less taxing on his emotions that way.

His thoughts were suddenly cut off by the sound of a single, muffled sniffle. He quickly shot his glance back to Nanaba, and stared at her, completely dumbfounded.

Nanaba held her sleeve up to her nose, and kept her head down low. It wasn't possible to see her eyes or even her expression when she was in such a position, but a tremble could be heard in her voice as she spoke. "Really..? You're not going to wait any longer..?" 

"N-No..." Mike stuttered, mentally scrambling to piece together the proper answer. "I'm already gonna be older than most of the kids there. If I wait any longer then it'll be too late." 

Nanaba's shoulders shook ever-so slightly but she did her best to keep still. "You.... You weren't going to say anything?"

"I..." the answer lost it's path in the back of Mike's throat. He swallowed back the words with clenched teeth, and inhaled a deep breath through his nose. "I'm sorry." 

Almost instantly, Nanaba's sobbing intensified as if triggered by the apology, and with it, Mike felt a huge wave of guilt washing over him. He briefly wondered if the topic had been eating away at her mind all day, if she had been biting her tongue the entire time waiting for the right chance to bring it up.

"Hey, Nanaba, don't..." Mike began to speak before feeling the sting of tears in his own eyes. "C...Come on, don't cry..." 

Despite Mike's pleas, Nanaba continued to utter soft sobs into her sleeve. She was a quiet crier, always had been, and even at full force, her sobs came out as hushed hiccups. Still, it was enough to tug at Mike's heartstrings, causing thin lines of tears to pour down his own cheeks. He wiped them away with the rough palms of his hands, leaving behind marks of red around his eyes. 

"I didn't want to tell you 'cause I didn't want to make you cry, you know..." Mike mumbled, rubbing the remaining wetness from his cheeks. 

"Dummy...." Nanaba mumbled, a hiccup followed close by. "I don't mind crying, it's just... If something bad happens to you, and we never got to say goodbye... I.... I'd be really sad." 

The memories still felt fresh in Mike's mind for the next following years, though they always ended abruptly with those words. 

"If something bad happens to you, and we never got to say goodbye... I.... I'd be really sad." 

He could still remember what happened beyond that point, yet those same words echoed through his mind, refusing to be forgotten. The rhythmic hiccups as Nanaba cried, the raw stinging of his own eyes, and the sweet smell emitting from the lily of the valley atop his head. It was all such a clear memory, as if it had taken place only a day or two ago.

Perhaps it was due to a strong sense of guilt weighing on his conscious that he was unable to forget, but even then, he didn't understand why. The two had made up shortly after the small spat. Nanaba apologized for her outburst, Mike apologized for not telling her, and in no time, they had been smiling together again before bidding their farewells. 

So why did he still feel guilty? Why was the image of Nanaba crying always the first to come to mind when he thought of her? 

He didn't understand, and even as he first caught glimpse of her grown-up face years later, he recalled that day from years ago. 

It was the day of Nanaba's graduation from training camp, and the day she was to choose which branch she'd like to stay in. She had briefly glimpsed at Mike during the ceremony, who stood on the stage amongst few other soldiers, but her expression had remained serious and unchanged. 

Her appearance was nearly the same as it was when he'd seen her last, Mike noted, but there was a serious change in her overall demeanour. The sort of rough hardness that only came after years of military training.

How would things go between them now? He couldn't help wondering. Did she remember that day as vividly as he did, and if so, did she remember it fondly, or had she been thinking poorly of him ever since? 

The ceremony ended shortly after, and Nanaba had made her decision. From that point on, she would become a soldier who fought for the freedom of humanity under the wings of the Survey Corps. Which was conveniently the branch that Mike served under, giving him the perfect chance to approach her before the area had to be cleared. 

Mike filed his way through the small crowd, many of the young soldiers cleared the way for him either out of respect or intimidation. He wasn't sure. He managed to make his way to Nanaba with ease, but starting the conversation was harder than he had expected. 

He stared down at her, and she stared right back. Her eyes were just as piercingly ice-blue as Mike had recalled.

_"If something bad happens to you, and we never got to say goodbye... I.... I'd be really sad."_

The words suddenly came flooding back to him again, and at that moment, he realized how different the look in her eyes had become. He couldn't read her very easily anymore. 

He had no idea what she was thinking, or how she felt about him. It was enough to make him feel uneasy. 

_But I'm here. I'm alive._

Slowly, Nanaba's lips curled into a subtle smile. She was the first to break the silence. 

"You... have moustache now." was all that she said. 

As if he had forgotten it was there, Mike placed a hand over his upper lip and felt the ragged hairs with the tips of his index and middle fingers. 

"Yeah," he finally answered. "I grew it." 

Nanaba's smile grew into a full-out grin as she let out a small, cheery laugh. It was a nostalgic sound, with the same soothing remedy as a soft rain. Mike found himself smiling along with her. 

"I almost didn't recognize you at first because of it." Nanaba commented after she stopped laughing. 

"Ah." Mike mumbled in response. He suddenly felt bashful. "I recognized you right away."

"Really? Even with this new undercut?" Nanaba asked, running her hand across the shaven section on the nape of her neck, a vague smirk adorning her face. Glancing at Mike, she was quick to add, "It appears to be a popular style around here. Even you've got one." 

As if instinctively, Mike also brought his hand to the back of his neck, running his fingertips across the shortly buzzed hair. It was a convenient style, but the fact that he and Nanaba had been apart so many years and still chose a similar hairdo brought a vague laugh to his lips. "I guess so, yeah." 

"It suits you." Nanaba commented, lowering her hand again, watching in amusement at Mike's flustered reaction. Despite the amount of time that had passed, he was still the same timid man beneath all of that muscle. 

"Thanks, you too." Mike commented, giving a nod, and opening his mouth to speak again, he was soon interrupted by the beckoning of a fellow solider. 

"Zacharias!" The rough voice had called out, and it didn't take more than a single call to gather Mike's attention. 

"I guess you'll have to be going already." Nanaba commented, to which Mike responded with a single nod. "We'll see each other around though more, I'm sure of it." 

Again, Mike nodded his head. "It was good seeing you." he managed to say, never a man very good with his words. 

Regardless, Nanaba smiled and seemed content with the comment. "Of course."

Turning around to walk away, Mike was interrupted only as Nanaba made one last remark. 

"Hey, Mike," She said, her voice a little quiet. 

Mike stood still, not looking back. 

"I'm glad nothing bad happened to you." she said, and if Mike wasn't mistaken, her tone seemed to have a teasing hint hidden beneath it. But before he could respond, the girl had gone off in her own direction, running to catch up with her fellow soldiers. 

Mike watched as the girl walked off, the image of Nanaba as a young girl creating flower crowns and bursting into tears still fresh in his mind. That little girl was now all grown up, and impressively so. Mike couldn't help but smile. 

"Ah," the man mumbled quietly to himself. "I'm glad nothing bad happened to you, too." 

With that, Mike walked off, the promise of more frequent encounters between the two leaving a smile on his face.


End file.
